Hi everyone! As promised, I wanted to report back on our 3 night stay at the RPC January 24-27. We've stayed CL at the Poly and BWI before, but I was really excited to try out the RPC since people here have said such great things about it. Overall, staying in the main building of the GF was lovely. The lobby is gorgeous, and it was really fun to stand by the railing of our 3rd floor room or the club lounge on the 4th floor and watch the activity below. But I don't know that it will be my top choice in the future.
Pros: The food offering were great. There was a woman making fresh Mickey waffles two of the three mornings we were there for breakfast. The warm scones at "tea time" were amazing. The afternoon hors d'oeuvres were nicely varied from an extensive cheese offering to a couple hot items like pork belly, and cold salads, cold soup, crudite, cookies, and cupcakes. Desserts were pretty much the same typical "Disney dessert" you get at dessert parties or other CLs. The resort is beautiful, and we took advantage of things like a late breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and the Perfectly Princess Tea. I really enjoyed sitting in the lounge with a glass of wine at night and taking in the sights and sounds of the GF. Our room was a deluxe room, and it was plenty big for 3 adults and 1 child.
Cons: The lobby is really loud at night. My six year old had a lot of trouble falling asleep with the noice from the lounge and the band. She was wiped out early a few nights from busy days at the park, and it made for a rough bedtime that she couldn't sleep. I'd bring a white noise machine next time. The staff was surprisingly unfriendly, and at times downright cold. This isn't true across the board (the staff in the lobby was great), but the CL staff was disappointing. It often felt like my high-energy (but well behaved) 6 year old was annoying them. There were also piles of dirty dishes on every table at breakfast, and I often ended up clearing others' dirty dishes so that we could sit.
Comparison: The RPC might be a better fit with older children, and it was nice for our "girls trip" (my mom, my sister, me, and my DD). I'm really glad we experienced it, but I think DH and I will stick with the BWI garden suites for our "adults only" trips. The Innkeepers Club was overall better - much friendlier staff, and the chef-made hors d'oeuvres are always great (and lacking that the RPC, at least while we were there). We'd also rather be in the Boardwalk/Epcot area than the MK area at night when we stay without our kids. For trips with our 2 and 6 year olds, I'd rather be at the Poly. The lounge at the Poly is much more kid-friendly, the staff is consistently great, you can see the fireworks from the lounge at night, and the building is quieter (although the food isn't as good as the RPC or BWI). Each CL has its own personality!
. Hope this helps some others deciding between the CLs.
So How do you get the contact information for them? I originally booked just a regular room and we are about 120 days out from our stay, so how far in advance do I or they contact me?
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